Lucendia Jones in her New Orleans home © ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images
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Environmental Justice for New Orleans
Environmental groups are sounding the alarm about the toxic chemical contamination in sediment and soil left in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The hurricanes created 22 million tons of toxic debris, now dispersed throughout Greater New Orleans. Insufficient action has been taken to clean up the toxic contamination. No decision has been made as to whether there will ever be a coordinated government effort to rid storm ravaged communities of toxic substances.
Testing by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and other independent organizations reveal that the sediment contains dangerous chemicals such as lead, arsenic, petroleum products, and other industrial contaminants. These toxic substances can cause significant health ailments like cancer and serious neurological disease. In many locations, toxic concentrations are far higher than federal and state agencies allow. The EPA and NRDC also found “hot spot” contamination near old industrial sites that have been outlawed for decades. Still, officials have declared Greater New Orleans safe for residents. Environmental groups are concerned that the EPA has based its safety evaluations on short-term exposure measurements. Long-term exposure of these dangerous chemicals is linked to significant health problems. Additionally, the EPA has not tested private yards and houses where people will spend large amounts of time. Learn more about the NRDC study.
To compound matters, New Orleans residents are facing immediate health effects associated with mold. Even before the floodwaters receded, mold began to grow throughout houses, some of which sat half-submerged for nearly a month. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that mold growth inside New Orleans homes was likely at or above a level associated with health ailments like decreased lung function. Furthermore, local doctors report that increasing numbers of residents are coming in with persistent respiratory complaints, eye irritation, and sinus infections, all triggered by mold. Long term exposure to certain types of mold has been linked to a variety of neurological effects, immune suppression, and infant pulmonary hemorrhage.
The Katrina disaster highlights race and class issues for all Americans. While the hurricane certainly hit wealthier, predominantly white communities that deserve full protection and cleanup, the hurricane’s impact was especially devastating for low-income communities and communities of color. These neighborhoods, which are closer to toxic industrial sites, now have the highest concentrations of contamination and mold. Furthermore, there tends to be less community money to pay for privately funded cleanup and more limited access to health care. In general, a number of studies have demonstrated that certain communities – namely minority and low-income populations – experience a disproportionate burden of environmental pollution. Hurricane Katrina merely exacerbates the problem.
AIUSA believes that all residents of New Orleans have
the right to live in a clean, healthy, and safe environment,
that the hardest-hit areas should be given the highest
priority for cleanup and rebuilding, and that residents
should have the opportunity to participate in the process.
AIUSA supports local and national health and environmental
organizations in calling on the federal government to
remove contaminated sediment, to adequately inform residents
about potential health risks, and to provide clear guidelines
as to how residents can protect themselves while cleaning
and repairing their homes. In this process particular
attention should be paid to low income areas and communities
of color.
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